Sage Greene and the Mystery of the Accused Cat

Mystery Fiction by Arthur Semicolon Doyle

Middle-school sleuth, Sage Greene, walks to the house of her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Gray. It’s a hot and humid summer day in Reston so Sage appreciates the cool air conditioning inside. She is greeted in the foyer by Kimble, an orange cat. As Sage removes her shoes, Kimble plays with the shoelaces.

“Shoo, Kimble!” Mrs. Gray says. “He’s a year old but still as rambunctious as a kitten!”

In the kitchen, Mrs. Gray offers Sage an ice tea, but her cupboard is empty. Her dishwasher has just finished so she opens it up for a glass. A big cloud of steam rises out and fogs up her eyeglasses. “Not again!” she laughs. “My glasses fog up all the time in the humid weather.”

After pouring Sage a glass of iced tea at the table, they hear loud thumps from the living room. Curious, Sage and Mrs. Gray investigate. When they enter the room, Kimble jumps from the top of the coffee table and runs past them into the kitchen. Several magazines are on the floor. “Ooh, that cat is always knocking things over!”

Sage helps Mrs. Gray pick up the magazines. Suddenly a loud shattering and splash sound comes from the kitchen. Then a terrified Kimble darts out of the kitchen, through the living room, and disappears around a corner.

They look in the kitchen to see the floor is covered with iced tea and broken glass. Mrs. Gray gasps. Sage leans in the doorway and sees the table top also has iced tea and glass pieces on it. “Stay out of there, Sage.” says Mrs. Gray. “You don’t have shoes on.”

Mrs. Gray shakes her fist in the air. “Kimble, you naughty kitty!” she shouts. “Knocking a glass off a table is going too far!” Sage interrupts, “Wait a minute. Kimble didn’t do it.”

How does Sage know that Kimble is innocent?

Solution:

Mrs. Gray is confused. Sage says, “I know Kimble likes to knock things off tables, but if he pushed the glass off the table, it would have smashed when it hit the floor. Look at the table top. There’s broken glass and iced tea there too. The glass must have shattered while it was still on the table and then some pieces and tea fell on the floor.”

“But how?” asks Mrs. Gray. Sage replies, “The glass was very hot from the dishwasher and then you poured cold iced tea in it. After a few moments, that temperature change can make a glass shatter on its own.”

Sage and Mrs. Gray find the frightened cat hiding in the foyer and they discover his back is wet with tea. “Poor kitty got splashed,” says Sage as she dries him with a towel. “You know, Kimble, if you hadn’t lured us out of the kitchen that glass might have shattered in my hand. Thank you.” Kimble purrs as if to say “You’re welcome.”